


Steam Powered Flying Machine

by Prismidian



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/M, Genderswaped, I like giving them different superhero names when it's a different au, Rule 63, genderbent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5646562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prismidian/pseuds/Prismidian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marin Dupain-Cheng had served his time fighting in a war against the airship pirates but has lost quite a few important people in his life along the way. </p><p>One person he hasn't lost however was his first love Adrienne Agreste, but after serving his time as Noire Feline's partner, when he returns home he never imagined he'd run into Noire Feline again. </p><p>Things get complicated when Marin creates an invention that allows him to fly by himself and saves Adrienne after she falls off the floating island. </p><p>Instead of telling her who he is, he is praised as a hero and named 'Coccinellidea Maginfica' Coccinellidae for short. </p><p>This is a rule 63 fic which means all the characters are genderswaped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Much could be said about the power of steam machines, but a great deal more could be said of those who brought them to life.

Marin Dupain-Cheng was the son of a baker, not a airship captain or a wealthy aristocrat, a humble baker and almost everyone in town liked to remind him of that fact.

"You'll never make it as an inventor!"

"You'll never make something to fly."

"Only a fool would think he could fly on his own without a ship."

All the kids teased him when he was growing up, but that didn't stop him.

Once he had grown, people had decided they didn't care to make fun of him anymore, it wasn't worth their 'precious time'.

The time piece that his father gave him was the last thing he had left of his family, a war had broken out and well, like the many victims of tragedies, he was one of them.

He lost contact with many friends because of that war, but thankfully they were all still alive, stationed at different ports he didn't see them very often, but he was glad the war was over and all they were sent to do now was keep the peace.

The town in which he chose to live was not by chance, it was his old home, somethings still standing, others still being rebuilt.

His old workshop still stood, so, that was where he spent many hours of his days, not unlike before the war.

But, clinging to old memories was not why he came back, not entirely, his reason for coming back was a girl.

Her name was Adrienne Agreste and he was madly in love. His first crush and hopefully his last since he planned to ask her to marry him, but, one thing stood in his way.

She was of higher status and even though he served in the war, it wasn't enough for her parents approval. If he wanted to ask for her hand, he'd have to make something of himself, and world famous inventor was his goal.

Somedays he'd get lost in day dreams when she passed by his window, but once he came to he'd quickly get back to work.

One day, an old friend of his, who he knew had a thing for him showed up at his doorstep with a bright smile on her face before she greeted him with a big hug.

"I didn't think it was possible, but its you!" She squealed and giggled as she nuzzled him affectionately.

"It's me!" He chuckled lightly, pecking her on the lips before she let him go.

The girl went by the name of Noire Feline and always wore a mask, but that was just her codename and he never asked for her real one.

"I saw your face in town and I- I thought I must be dreaming, there was no way you'd move back to a small little town like this, but after the adventures we had, how could you be happy here?"

"Well Fe, I could never leave my old workshop, you know I'm an inventor right?" He replied, a nervous half smile on his face as he watched hers.

"You never cease to surprise me Marin." She sighed, shaking her head as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You know, someday, we'll both be on our separate ways and we will have forgotten all about each other, but for now, I hope you don't mind me popping in from time to time."

"I don't mind at all kitty."

"Good, then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan."

After they said their goodbyes Marin gave her a nod and she went on her way, but both of them were not prepared for the invention of a lifetime that Marin was about to create.


	2. Chapter 2

Today was shaping up to be an exciting one, he had finally tweaked his flying machine enough that it was ready for a test run, and he knew just the place.

The unveiling of a new dock was scheduled for today, even though it wasn't supposed to be ready for another week or so.

The mayor was anxious to reopen it and as a result the supports were rushed, they advised against it, but the mayor believed it to be ready and held the event anyway.

Charlie stood tall next to his father, and Adrienne stood beside him.  
Marin, was standing in the crowd, with his invention strapped to his back when there was a crack.

The beams that supported the dock were failing, creaking and cracking under the weight of the crowd above.

Everyone started to scream and panic, pushing past people to get off the dock and onto solid ground.

Marin didn't follow the crowd, instead he ran towards Adrienne to help make sure she was safe; But once the first beam snapped, Charlie and his father had hurried onto their airship and Adrienne was left on her own.

The boardwalk was wooden, like any dock, but because it hung from the side of a cliff, if you fell you'd never come back, alive at least.

Floating cities and islands were common but the risk of falling off kept most people away from the docks unless they were recently built.

Everyone in attendance was aware of the risk they took by standing on the platform, so when things got ugly they ran.

The horror of falling sent most into a panic, but when Marin got a glimpse of Adrienne, he could do nothing but watch as she was pushed from the already unstable structure.

Without a second thought, he pulled on his goggles, leapt into action, and dove off into the air; There was no way he'd let her die when he had something that could save her.

The jetpack wasn't pretty, but it served it's purpose; He was able to fly down, scoop her up and return to solid ground just before the fuel ran out.

Luckily there weren't any other casualties, the boardwalk was evacuated and everyone else had jumped on a ship or safely reached land.

Adrienne who was still clinging to him opened her eyes and gave a heavy sigh of relief before she turned to face her hero.

"You saved me! What's your name?" She asked with a smile, but he didn't know what to say, he couldn't tell her who he was could he? he looked everywhere but her face, until a ladybug caught his eye that had landed on her shoulder "Coccinella Magnifica." He blurted out.

She quirked a brow at the curious name but pecked his cheek anyway as a thank you.

"This man is a hero!" Charlie shouted from afar before he hurried over to the two.

Adrienne knew Charlie would soon make a fuss if she was still in the arms of another man when he arrived; so even though she didn't really want to, she told Marin, "You can put me down now."

Marin's face was already red from the kiss, but he put her down and chuckled lightly, "Just your friendly neighborhood Ladybug, at your service my lady."

Marin and Charlie were acquainted but for some reason Charlie, or anyone else for that matter, couldn't tell who he was with these goggles on and for a moment Marin thought he could might use that to his advantage.

He didn't know for how long people wouldn't recognize him, but he was quick to leave, even though Adrienne looked like she wanted him to stay.

He could have picked a more masculine name than Ladybug but, while he was holding Adrienne like a pair of honeymooners he was too flustered to think straight.

It wasn't his intention to be a hero, he was an inventor, but, when Adrienne was in danger he couldn't help himself.

He didn't really have a plan for what he was going to do with the invention or his unique skill set after the war, but when preparation met opportunity, vigilantism became his new pastime.


	3. Chapter 3

You'd never guess by just looking at her, but Adrienne Agreste was head over heels in love.

Her hero, Ladybug, saved her life and was the most handsome man she had ever met; At least in her twitterpated state.

Blissfully dancing around her home, she couldn't wait to see him again, but how? He only appeared when she was in danger.

She didn't really _want_  to _put_ herself in danger, but she _did_  want to see him again, if only her wanting to see him out-weighed her sense of safety.

As Noire Feline she'd never put her life in danger, but walking along the railing outside her bedroom window never looked so appealing.

Luckily for her, whether or not she was in danger, Marin couldn't keep himself away and found himself outside her window.

"Coccinella!" She smiled and he landed on her balcony. Without thinking he almost removed his googles but was quick to right his mistake.

"You can take those off..if you want.." She told him, holding her hands behind her back to keep herself from doing so.

"D-do you not like a man of mystery?" He chuckled lightly and she shook her head.

"Only if that man trusts me with his secrets."

"W-Where's the mystery in that?"

She could tell he was about as nervous as she was, but for some reason he felt so familiar.

Maybe it was his voice? The way he spoke? Who ever it was it couldn't be Marin, he would have told her right?

He didn't know she was Noire Feline, but Marin never kept any secrets from her or anyone, he just wasn't that kind of guy.

But she did feel oddly drawn to him the same way she was towards Marin.

Tired from her long day, she walked out onto the balcony and draped herself over him.

He was surprised to say the least, but as she let out a soft sigh and rested her head on his shoulder, so he wrapped his arms around her and just enjoyed the quiet moment.

He would tell her eventually, but he had to make a name for himself if he ever wanted her father to approve, and then there was Noire Feline; He didn't think he could feel so much or the same really for two people, but, he didn't really know that much about Adrienne, so he at least wanted to give his crush a try.

Noire Cat would understand right?

After a while he thought maybe he should pull away from the hug, but as their embrace started to loosen he realised her leaning on him was because she had started to fall asleep.

"Woah- sorry, I must be more tired than I thought." She yawned softly and shook herself awake.

"I'm sorry, you need your sleep, I don't know what I was thinking coming here this late."

"No, it's fine, I was happy to see you and I was hoping I'd get to see you again." Adrienne assured him and he smiled.

She pecked his cheek before she leaned on him again and he assumed she must have been too tired to walk. So he scooped her up and carried her to her bed, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead after he laid her down.

"I'll come visit you another time, during the day or-"

"No- no, at night is fine, I'm normally busy all day so- it's fine."

Her schedule was always planned out and filled most of her day, but no matter how tired she was she still wanted him to drop by.

"I'll fly by tomorrow then." He told her with a smile and she smiled back.

"Good night Coccinella."

He gave her a nod before he walked onto the balcony and turned the jet pack back on.

"Good Night Adrienne."

After a good nights rest, Marin woke up and started tinkering with his flying machine. He was going to embrace being a superhero and if he wanted to visit Adrienne more often, he'd have to make sure nothing happened to his jet pack.

Distracted by day dreaming he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings, if someone wanted to jump him they could, but luckily for him what made his heart skip a beat was just Noire Cat, after she knocked something over onto a metal sheet.

She screamed, so he knew it was her, but trying to hide the contraption before she popped her head in the workshop was another matter.

Something was different about her today however, normally she was so quiet that she could easily sneak up on him, but today...

If anything was going to be lurking outside his workshop, it would be her, but why did she seem so nervous?

"M-marin..?"

"Yeah Fe?"

"I need to talk, to you, about something.."

Never had those words left her mouth in such a way. He could tell it had to be bad news by the way she was holding herself, but he wasn't going to stop her from talking to him about it.

"I've met someone..I think that I'd really like him and it might get serious, so, I just- I wanted to let you know that I-"

"I met someone too, I really like her..so it's ok, don't worry about it."

To be fair this news was a relief, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain it to her, but now they were both getting what they wanted.

She smiled at him and he smiled back but the awkwardness was still there and she bit her lip.

He was about to offer that she'd come inside and talk about it if she needed to, but instead she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, one last time.

If she was going to build something new with someone else she wanted to make sure that spark wasn't still there.

But it still made her heart flutter and he still felt it too, however the fear of not knowing what else they could find caused his heart to ache.

He still loved her, but the memories he shared with her were clouded by the war and he was so tired of fighting.

"That was all I needed to say." She told him and he gave her a nod.

"Me too."

"Goodbye Marin."

"Goodbye Noire Feline."

She told herself she wouldn't cry, but she did still love him, looking at his tired eyes and war torn heart, she knew there was too much pain to overcome if they wanted to stay together.

So she'd start anew, the look in her heroes eyes held so much wonder and excitement that she couldn't help but feel it too, maybe if things were different she could have stayed with Marin, but she had gotten a second chance at love and she was going to take it.


End file.
